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November 2
The weather seemed to deteriorate over the course of the day with heavy
rain and large cross swells. Typically the swells come from the east, but
today there were swells coming from the south as well. This made for
miserable rowing. At times wind from the south seemed to blow the rain
horizontal. I might not have noticed this, but rainwater kept running
into my right ear. My progress was not the greatest. Late in the day my mood
was moving toward gloomy when I considered how fortunate I have been
throughout the trip.
Before Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope bound for India, he had
to fend off a mutiny. There have been no mutinies aboard the American
Pearl. My muscles do threaten the management with a general strike on
occasion, but no mutinies. When Ferdinand Magellan was circumnavigating
the globe his crew nearly starved. They ate the leather out of the
rigging. I have plenty of food, even cashews and crunchy snack food. I
do not need to worry about falling off the planet, nor need I fear being
eaten by hostile native upon my arrival on the other side. When I consider any
of the incredible voyages of James Cook, I think myself in the lap of
luxury. The wind is not so bad after all. The rain washes my clothes and
the side swells carry all those loose hairs off the deck.
When I turned in for the night, I left the daggerboard a few notches down
into the water. I have not done this before as the boat could "trip" over
it on the face of a wave and capsize. But, without the daggerboard being
down a bit, I fear I will be carried north all night.
November 3
The daggerboard worked well and I did not lose any more miles to the North
while I slept. The weather was the same with winds from the South and
rain for much of the day. However by late afternoon the wind began to shift
more to the Southeast and the cross swell from the south subsided. This
was a great relief.
My health for the most part is very good. Unfortunately, during my camera
overboard escapade, I cut the large toe on my right foot. After the
humiliation of losing the video camera, I did not have the heart to report
the battered toe. I saw no reason to add injury to insult in my report.
I would not report it now, but last night as I was bedding down for the
evening; I barely touched the toe against the cabin wall.
The amount of pain that emanated from such a small bit of flesh was
astonishing. It led me to think that something is rotten in the state of
toe-land. I removed the bandage and found much of the cut healing well.
However, a portion of the cut ran up under the nail and this was the
Source of the infection. Cutting the nail away from around the injury was
something less than amusing. I scrubbed the area with disinfectant,
covered it with antibiotic ointment and bandaged the area once again. I
will work harder to keep the area clean and dry.
I have had some tendonitis in my right Achilles. I tore 50% of this
Tendon on Mount Kenya in 1986 helping a fellow climber out of a stream. Since
then, I've had periodic bouts with tendonitis. It creaks like an old
gate, but this has improved over the course of the last week. The shoulder I
dislocated last summer during my battle with Danielle has given me very
little trouble. If anything, my left shoulder has been more inclined to
grumble and twinge. All in all, considering the activities of the last 52
days I must say I am in very good health.
The wind has gone back a bit to south-southeast. I will use the
daggerboard again this evening. I only need about one more degree of
latitude to the South to reach either Guadeloupe or Antigua, but it would
be better for me to move south sooner rather than later. |
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